BASF opens new office building for Berlin Service Hub

BASF Services Europe GmbH today opened its new service Hub location in Berlin. BASF will use 15,000 square meters over eight floors in the SCALE office complex in the Prenzlauer Berg district, said the company.

With around 2,800 employees, BASF Services Europe GmbH provides a wide range of business management services for BASF Group companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Previously, BASF Services Europe GmbH had been situated in Berlin for 18 years at Oberbaum City in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district.

“We have invested in a modern, efficient and sustainable working environment in Berlin that will optimally support our flexible working models for our employees in the future. At the same time, we are underlining BASF Services Europe GmbH's long-term commitment to Berlin. We are now recognized as an attractive employer, especially by international applicants,” says Gunilla Roesler-Dalitz, Managing Director of BASF Services Europe GmbH.

The new office building offers various room concepts to meet the different needs of employees. For example, there are flexible project and meeting rooms for two to 200 people, which enable hybrid meetings so that employees can participate from anywhere.

With an innovative smart app, employees can book workstations and rooms, organize appointments and navigate through the building using a 3D floor plan via a browser or their personal mobile device. The app also makes it easier to find colleagues present at the site.

Based in Berlin, BASF Services Europe GmbH provides business management services for BASF Group companies in the areas of finance, controlling, human resources, supply chain, procurement, project management, process and product safety as well as IT and digitalization for BASF companies in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Language skills are of great importance, and the Berlin Hub offers its services in 26 different languages, whenever possible, with native speakers. The employees at the Berlin Hub are correspondingly international, originating from over 100 different countries.

As an employer, BASF Services Europe stands for maximum flexibility in terms of working models and is therefore an attractive employer for talented people with diverse professional backgrounds. The company places great importance on ensuring that everyone feels comfortable in an inclusive working environment and a barrier-free office, enabling them to fully unleash their creativity.

We remind, Shares in chemicals giant BASF rose on Friday after a report that Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is exploring an acquisition of the German group's energy business Wintershall Dea. BASF stock was up 1.2% at 0855 GMT, with traders pointing to a Bloomberg News report late on Thursday on interest from ADNOC. Germany's benchmark stock index was little changed.

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Samsung Engineering, a world leading engineering solutions and project management company, announced today, that with LOTTE CHEMICAL, Korea National Oil Corporation and Malaysia's SEDC Energy (Sarawak Economic Development Corporation Energy) the FEED contract for the Sarawak H2biscus Green Hydrogen & Ammonia project(H2biscus) in Malaysia was launched with a kick-off meeting, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The kick-off meeting was held on the 23rd November at Samsung Engineering's headquarters, GEC (Global Engineering Center) in Sangil-dong, Gangdong-gu. Samsung Engineering Executive Vice President & Head of Sustainable Solution Business Division Cheonhong Park, LOTTE CHEMICAL Division Manager Kim Yong-hak, Korea National Oil Corporation Team Leader Jang Jin-hwan, SEDC Energy President Robert Hardin, and other officials from each participating company participated, reviewed major subjects and schedules related to FEED design progress, and shared strategies.

Samsung Engineering will execute the FEED for the green hydrogen plant with an annual capacity of 150,000 tons and a green ammonia conversion plant with a capacity of 850,000 tons in Sarawak, Malaysia, expected completion in 2024.

We remind, Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) is building India's first on-purpose propylene facility based on Olefin Conversion Technology (OCT) in Haldia, West Bengal. Speciality chemicals have supported HPL in earning Rup 999 crore of revenue in FY 2023. HPL is also constructing India's biggest phenol facility with 300,000 tonnes/y of phenol capacity and 185,000 tonnes/y of acetone capacity. With the two plants commissioning, the total chemical business portfolio is poised to rise by Rup 5000 crore.

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Shares in chemicals giant BASF rose on Friday after a report that Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is exploring an acquisition of the German group's energy business Wintershall Dea, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

BASF stock was up 1.2% at 0855 GMT, with traders pointing to a Bloomberg News report late on Thursday on interest from ADNOC. Germany's benchmark stock index was little changed. Any deal could value Wintershall Dea at more than 10 billion euros ($11 billion), Bloomberg reported. UK-listed Harbour Energy Plc is also among suitors evaluating the business, the report added, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

BASF, which holds a 72.7% stake in Wintershall Dea, declined to comment, as did Wintershall, ADNOC and Harbour Energy. In April, BASF CEO Martin Brudermueller said the group was working to exit the energy business, with a market listing as a preferred option. He said last month various options were on the table to sell it.

Wintershall Dea, a joint venture of BASF and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investment firm LetterOne, has been de-consolidating its Russian activities in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. BASF, which has said that Wintershall Dea's operations in Russia were effectively expropriated, announced last month the legal separation of its Russia-related business would likely be completed by mid-2024.

BASF added at the time it was entitled to significant German state investment guarantees for the Russian assets. ADNOC has said it is pursuing deal opportunities in renewable energy, gas, petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it steps up its global expansion.

It bought a stake in an Azerbaijani gas field, has put in an offer with BP for a stake in Israeli gas producer NewMed Energy, has opened takeover talks with German plastics maker Covestro and is looking to create a $20 billion chemicals giant with Austria's OMV.

We remind, BASF is taking advantage of the currently low interest rate environment in China and has signed a CNY 40 billion (approximately €5 billion) syndicated bank term loan facility with a maturity of 15 years for its new Verbund site in Zhanjiang. The new site is currently under construction in Guangdong province. The loan will be provided by major Chinese banks and offers flexible repayment options to optimize BASF’s cash utilization.

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MRC -- India will start blending compressed biogas with natural gas to boost domestic demand and cut reliance on natural gas imports, the government said in a statement on Saturday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The mandatory phased introduction will start at 1% for use in automobiles and households from April 2025, it said. The share of mandatory blending will then be increased to around 5% by 2028.

India, which is one of the world's largest importers of oil and gas, ships in about half of its overall gas consumption and wants to cut its imports cost.

The government also aims to have 1% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in aircraft turbine fuel by 2027, doubling to 2% in 2028. The SAF targets will initially apply to international flights, the statement said. The steps are aimed at helping India achieve net zero emissions targets by 2070.

We remind, Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) is building India's first on-purpose propylene facility based on Olefin Conversion Technology (OCT) in Haldia, West Bengal. Speciality chemicals have supported HPL in earning Rup 999 crore of revenue in FY 2023. HPL is also constructing India's biggest phenol facility with 300,000 tonnes/y of phenol capacity and 185,000 tonnes/y of acetone capacity. With the two plants commissioning, the total chemical business portfolio is poised to rise by Rup 5000 crore.

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Sri Lanka will likely approve on Monday a proposal from Chinese state refiner Sinopec to build a $4.5-B refinery, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"It's on the agenda for Monday. Once the cabinet gives approval, we will invite them to sign the agreement," Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told Reuters. Sri Lanka, trying to recover from its worst economic crisis in more than 70 yr, is hungry for new investment and local fuel supplies. Sinopec's investment of at least $4.5 B "will go up in value as and when they do additions, but they must first come and sign the agreement for us to give any more details," Wijesekera said.

For Sinopec, the world's top refinery by capacity and one of the largest petrochemical makers, the investment would mark a breakthrough in a long effort to expand beyond China's borders. It owns refinery assets in Saudi Arabia and petrochemicals production in Russia.

The Sri Lanka investment follows state-run China Merchant Port Holdings' 99-yr lease at Hambantota port and a $392-MM deal to build a logistics and storage hub in Colombo port, Chinese state media reported in April.

That fits into Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, billed as recreating the ancient Silk Road to boost global trade infrastructure, experts say. Sinopec will start basic engineering design, including finalizing the size of the refinery and technical configuration, after getting official approval, a senior company official told Reuters this month.

The investment will add to Sinopec's recently started fuel retailing business, the third international company with a foothold in Sri Lanka, with a license to operates 150 petrol stations.In August Sinopec and commodities trader Vitol were shortlisted by the Sri Lankan government to bid for the refinery. Vitol subsequently dropped out, the Sinopec official said.

The refinery may target markets beyond Sri Lanka, where local fuel consumption is low, and use its partnership with China Merchants Port to expand bunker fuel supply at Hambantota, a deep-sea port near busy shipping lanes between Europe and Asia, analysts say.

Sinopec's fuel oil division, which runs the retail business there, began in 2019 supplying marine bunker fuel at Hambantota, another Sinopec official said. Sri Lanka's refinery at Sapugaskanda, commissioned in 1969, can process 38,000 bpd.

We remind, China is on the brink of asserting its dominance in the realm of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) capacity expansions throughout Asia. Projections are confidently pointing towards China accounting for an overwhelming 96% of the capacity additions in Asia by 2027.

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